


On the Bright Side

by queen_scribbles



Category: Shepherds of Haven - Lena Nguyen
Genre: F/M, Mutual Pining, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28502232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: Reunions are wonderful things.  Reunions with the best friend you've spent the better part of your life pining over, well, those are a bit tricky.
Relationships: Main Character/Red Antiqua
Kudos: 4





	On the Bright Side

**Author's Note:**

> For the holiday contest, I give you more Ryn/Red, just Red POV this time, set during the day off you get before leaving Capra.

He found her in the library. Entirely unsurprising, for anyone who knew her even half as well as he did. Red leaned against a nearby row of shelves and watched Ryn peruse the ones in front of her as he waited for her to notice he was there.

It wasn’t a long wait.

“Given how long I’ve been gone,” she began without preamble or turning around, fingers running along the spines of the loosely-shelved books, “I could be wrong, but weren’t there a _lot_ more books in this section at one point?”

“There were,” he said with a sheepish chuckle. “Most of them have changed residence to my study. Not _intentionally,_ ” he elaborated when she turned around with a smile tugging her lips and a brow arched in a look he knew _all_ too well. “I needed them for research and forgot to put them back and no one’s wanted them.” It did figure she’d be the one to notice.

“Until me,” Ryn laughed, her smile gentle teasing that made his heart squeeze oddly in his chest. (Or, _not-so-oddly_ , really, if he was honest.)

“We did always share similar tastes in literature,” Red agreed with a laugh of his own.He rubbed the back of his neck and scanned the large gaps in the shelves, trying not to stare at her too much in his peripheral vision as he did. She just looked so _different_ and yet _not_ at the the same time; still _her_ but grown up from the lingeringly-gangly girl who’d left. “Was there something in particular you were looking for?”

Ryn smiled wryly and folded her hands behind her as she leaned back against the shelves. “You, actually.”

His heart skipped a beat and he hoped--oh, he _hoped_ \--it didn’t show on his face. “Were you?”

“Mm.” She nodded, not looking away even as she cleared her throat sheepishly. “We have a day before Blade and I leave. I wanted to spend some of it catching up, if you have the time. I got distracted by the nostalgia. And books.”

Red chuckled. “Understandable. The latter of the two distracts me all the time. And it worked out; here I am.”

He left off he’d been looking for her for much the same reason.

“Here you are,” Ryn repeated softly as she pushed away from the shelves. She toyed with one of her earrings as she closed the distance between them. “And do you have time to catch up, Archmage Antiqua?”

He laughed and ran one hand through his hair. “Always, Xaer, and I’ve missed you, but please _never_ call me that again.”

She cocked her head and arched a brow playfully as they headed out of the library. “Archmage Liefred?”

“ _Xaeryn_.”

“Alright, alright,” Ryn relented, bumping her shoulder against his. “I haven’t seen you in a decade; there’s... a bit of teasing built up.” She scuffed her foot against the ground as they walked. “Besides, I’m proud of you. Even though I know being stuck in one place isn’t what you wanted.”

The weight of his responsibility seemed to sit a little more heavily on his shoulders with the reminder, and Red only managed a half-shrug. “I’m sure Tevanti knew what he was doing.”

Ryn gave him a look that said the words rang as mechanical to her as they did to him before smiling and bumping shoulders again. “So, make any big changes when you became the man in charge?”

“Oh, yes, I went absolutely drunk with power,” Red deadpanned, pushing open the door to the hall for them. Ryn laughed and his breath caught ever so slightly in his throat. “Really, aside from rearranging the archmage’s study to suit my needs, I’ve left most things as they were.” He smirked. “I did tell Pan he has to wait a sennight before hazing new arrivals with Shifting.”

“Probably smart,” Ryn said with a small chuckle, running her fingers along one of the tapestries as they passed it and pivoted as one to take the door out to the courtyard. “Wouldn’t want to scare them away.”

“Glad you approve,” Red grinned, running a hand through his hair again. “One thing I haven’t done, but may take advantage of moving to the Shepherd compound to implement is that alternate organization-”

“-organization system for the library?” Ryn’s voice rose in pitch and her eyes lit up as she finished his sentence. When he nodded confirmation, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in an enthusiastic--if clumsy--sideways hug that made them stumble. “Sorry.”

Was she blushing? No, that was ridiculous. And even if she was, it was likely just embarrassment. “It’s always seemed a daunting task to thrust on people here,” he explained as they walked, “but I figure if we’re moving anyway...”

“Perfect timing,” Ryn nodded. “Fifteen year old me is jealous she won’t get to take advantage,” she said with a grin, “and grown up me is giddy I _will_. If you’re still working on it when I get back to Haven, I’d be happy to help.”

“Thanks. It’s a big job; we probably will,” Red said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“You could also ask Shery.” She toyed with an earring. “If she has the time, I’m sure she’d help. She’s very good at organizing, and she loves books.”

“Good to know,” he murmured. They walked in silence for a few minutes, heading as if by unspoken accord for the apple tree by the lake. “So, what about you?” he finally asked, glancing over at her as they settled under the tree. “What have you been up to, Captain Shrike?”

“Oh, this and that,” Ryn shrugged, smiling and rolling her eyes at him using her title. (It was fair play, and she _had_ started it.) “Largely whatever job will have me, which has meant a lot of guard work; people or caravans.” She smiled. “I taught myself how to fight with a dagger, too, for that and times magic would be a... bad idea.”

“Any time someone picks a fight, in other words,” Red deadpanned, leaning back against the tree.

She huffed a laugh. “More or less.”

“I like the nose ring,” he said, offhand, studying her profile and trying not to be obvious about it. Her jaw was sharper, her air of confidence more... settled and natural. Her hair was shorter, not a shaggy, curly cloud anymore.

Ryn chuckled and brushed her finger over the dainty gold ring that pierced the outside of her nose. “Thanks. One of the few impulsive things I did after leaving. I was worried I might regret it, but I haven’t so far.”

“It suits you.” _Liefred, stop talking._ If he wasn’t careful, he’d start saying things he didn’t want given voice. At least not yet, not here. “And I mean that as a compliment.”

She smiled wide and bit her bottom lip. “Given how hard it is for you to insult people, I figured.”

He chuckled. “And I will take _that_ as a compliment.”

“Do, that’s how I meant it.” She plucked a blade of grass and twirled it. “Getting back to your question, however, aside from guard work and other odd jobs, I did set up as a private investigator in Courtshore for... about a year?” She smirked. “Scrying makes it so much easier to find things, and if anyone wondered how I worked so fast, they never _asked_.”

Because knowing would make them culpable, and employing unsanctioned magic carried almost as heavy a penalty as _performing_ it. “Still a pretty big risk, Xaer,” Red couldn’t help commenting, something going tight in his chest at the thought.

“I was careful,” Ryn promised with a smile, reaching over to pat his knee. “And I wound up moving on before anyone got suspicious, I think. People did get uncomfortable with a Mage living in their neighborhood, and business was drying up anyway, so I found a ‘van that would have me and headed elsewhere.” She hesitated, bit her lip. “I thought of you any time we passed in eyeshot of ancient ruins,” she admitted.

“Not a hard connection to make,” he said softly.

“Sorry you didn’t get to pursue that like you wanted,” she said, just as softly, nudging her shoulder against his. 

“I get to explore the _occasional_ ruin,” Red shrugged. “Like where I found the hammer.”

“That _is_ pretty cool,” Ryn acknowledged with a laugh.

“And look on the bright side; if I was always off lost in ancient temples and what have you, I wouldn’t have been here when you came back through.” His heart pounded as he dared admit to that much, easily camouflaged in their years of friendship.

She gave a surprisingly bashful smile(for her). “Then will you think me terribly selfish if I say I’m glad you didn’t get to pursue that like you wanted?”

Red laughed. “No, or I wouldn’t have brought it up.” They could both be true, anyway.

“Good. I missed you, Red.”

He smiled and nudged her shoulder. “I missed you, too, Ryn.”

Achingly comfortable silence stretched between them, broken only by the quiet lapping of water in the lake.

Finally Ryn sighed. “Much as I’m enjoying this, I do have other things I need to accomplish today,” she said reluctantly. She pushed to her feet and held out one hand. “And I imagine you do as well?”

“I do,” Red groaned as he took her hand and let her help him scramble back to his feet. He didn’t particularly want to step out of this idyllic little bubble that held them, but the Circle needed him, and she had a mission... they weren’t carefree teenagers anymore. _More’s the pity._ “It was good getting to catch up,” he said instead, as they headed back inside.

“It was,” Ryn nodded, lips quirking in a smile. “Hopefully we’ll get to do more later.”

“Hopefully,” Red agreed. That was one bright side of leaving his long-time home; she was back in his life.Their hands brushed, and the warmth it sent spreading up his arm made him smile. 

It was a trade he would happily make.


End file.
